The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 2 eBook

SECTION CCCVI

Vaisampayana said, “It was, O lord of earth,
on the first day of the lighted fortnight during the
tenth month of the year that Pritha conceived a son
like the lord himself of the stars in the firmament.
And that damsel of excellent hips from fear of her
friends, concealed her conception, so that no one
knew her condition. And as the damsel lived entirely
in the apartments assigned to the maidens and carefully
concealed her condition, no one except her nurse knew
the truth. And in due time that beauteous maiden,
by the grace of deity, brought forth a son resembling
a very god. And even like his father, the child
was equipped in a coat of mail, and decked with brilliant
ear-rings. And he was possessed of leonine eyes
and shoulders like those of a bull. And no sooner
was the beauteous girl delivered of a child, then she
consulted with her nurse and placed the infant in
a commodious and smooth box made of wicker work and
spread over with soft sheets and furnished with a
costly pillow. And its surface was laid over with
wax, and it was encased in a rich cover. And
with tears in her eyes, she carried the infant to
the river Aswa, and consigned the basket to its waters.
And although she knew it to be improper for an unmarried
girl to bear offspring, yet from parental affection,
O foremost of kings, she wept piteously. Do thou
listen to the words Kunti weepingly uttered, while
consigning the box to the waters of the river Aswa,
’O child, may good betide thee at the hands
of all that inhabit the land, the water, the sky,
and the celestial regions. May all thy paths be
auspicious! May no one obstruct thy way!
And, O son, may all that come across thee have their
hearts divested of hostility towards thee: And
may that lord of waters, Varuna, protect thee in water!
And may the deity that rangeth the skies completely
protect thee in the sky. And may, O son, that
best of those that impart heat, viz., Surya,
thy father, and from whom I have obtained thee as
ordained by Destiny, protect thee everywhere!
And may the Adityas and the Vasus, the
Rudras and the Sadhyas, the Viswadevas
and the Maruts, and the cardinal points with
the great Indra and the regents presiding over them,
and, indeed, all the celestials, protect thee in every
place! Even in foreign lands I shall be able
to recognise thee by this mail of thine! Surely,
thy sire, O son, the divine Surya possessed of the
wealth of splendour, is blessed, for he will with
his celestial sight behold thee going down the current!
Blessed also is that lady who will, O thou that are
begotten by a god, take thee for her son, and who
will give thee suck when thou art thirsty! And
what a lucky dream hath been dreamt by her that will
adopt thee for her son, thee that is endued with solar
splendour, and furnished with celestial mail, and
adorned with celestial ear-rings, thee that hast expansive
eyes resembling lotuses, a complexion bright as burnished
copper or lotus leaves, a fair forehead, and hair ending
in beautiful curls! O son, she that will behold
thee crawl on the ground, begrimed with dust, and
sweetly uttering inarticulate words, is surely blessed!
And she also, O son, that will behold thee arrive at
thy youthful prime like maned lion born in Himalayan
forests, is surely blessed!’”